smoking

We have known for a long time the dangers associated with tobacco use, including a number of forms of cancer and heart disease. As a result, it is much harder to be a smoker today than it once was; cigarettes are much more expensive and there are far fewer places that allow smoking. Efforts to reduce smoking rates in the United States have been successful; smoking rates have dropped dramatically over the course of the last few decades. Nevertheless, there are still an estimated 40 million adults in the United States who currently smoke cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While smoking cigarettes comes at a great cost to one’s health and pocketbook, it turns out that those who smoke cigarettes experience another expense as well. New research indicates that smokers struggle on the job market, and remain unemployed longer than nonsmokers, CBS News reports. The study was conducted by researchers from Stanford University and the findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

“There’s been good knowledge of the harms of smoking in terms of health, but it’s also important to appreciate the fiscal harms of tobacco use,” said lead study author Judith Prochaska, PhD, MPH.

What’s more, the researchers found that even when smokers manage to find employment – they earn much less than their nonsmoking peers, according to the article. The research involved 131 unemployed smokers and 120 unemployed nonsmokers. Only 27 percent of smokers found a job after a year’s time, compared with 56 percent of nonsmokers; of those smokers who found a job, they averaged $5 less per hour, compared to their nonsmoking peers.

“The health harms of smoking have been established for decades,” said Prochaska in a news release, “and our study here provides insight into the financial harms of smoking both in terms of lower re-employment success and lower wages.”

There are plenty of incentives to quit smoking, as is clear by the mountains of research that has been conducted over the years. However, it is often said that nicotine is one of the most difficult addictive substances to quit, the reason for which are varied but it is possible to quit. The best shot of quitting usually comes by way of behavioral therapy in conjunction with smoking cessation products, such as nicotine gum or patches.

It is worth pointing out that research conducted recently has found that those in addiction recovery who smoke cigarettes are at greater risk of relapse than those who do not smoke. If you are in recovery and still smoke, a serious consideration of quitting may be in order.